Afflictions
by Zokk
Summary: In a race against time and a deadly virus, six genetically alterd kis must survive an economically crumbling United States to find a cure for the virus and prevent an allout nuclear holocaust. T for violence, language and some [tasteful] sexuality.
1. Chapter 1: Just Another Day

Afflictions

Introduction:

Being me means I _am_ my affliction. Strange yes, but when you've known me as long as I have, it makes sense: I'm not entirely human. None of the six of us are. There's me (Shadow), I'm seventeen, Rikka, who's also seventeen, Angel, who's sixteen, Gage and Shea (fifteen and fourteen, respectively, and the only blood siblings among us) and Tip, who's thirteen. We're something more. This is our story, our nightmare.

Chapter 1:

I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through the gaps in the Venetian blinds covering my window. Rolling over away from the light, I buried my face in my pillow trying to get back to sleep. I couldn't. I sighed, and pushed myself up into a sitting position. Sliding off the bed, I was dressed only in a pair of loose blue jeans. Picking up a shirt on the way out, I headed for the bathroom. Inside, I turned on the light. Turning on the cold water, I splashed some on my face then dried it with a towel from the rack.

_Hey, Angel finally got around to doing laundry, _I thought wryly as I glanced at my reflection in the mirror.

Brushing several strands of black hair out of my eyes, I slipped the dark t-shirt over my head, and headed downstairs. Shivering slightly as my bare feet touched the cold wood floor at the bottom of the stairs, I made my way into the kitchen. Everything was quiet. Listening for a moment, I concluded that I was the first one up. Opening the fridge, I stared inside for a second, wondering what it was I was looking for. We were running low on food again, and neither Angel, I or any of the others had had the chance to do the grocery shopping lately. I sighed, pulling what was left of a carton of eggs out, and setting it on the counter next to the stove. Delving into the bottom crisper drawer, I retrieved a package of shredded cheese and tossed it over with the eggs. Firing up a burner on the stove, I got out a frying pan and set it to heat over the flame. Reaching for the eggs, I broke them on the edge of the pan, watching them sizzle and pop. After a few minutes, I added the cheese and started scrambling. Suddenly, I felt a new presence in the room.

"What, not making any for me?" a voice from behind me asked coolly. I turned to see Rikka standing there, watching me with mild interest in her dark eyes. She was dressed in her usual simple black, her straight black hair coming to halfway between her jaw line and shoulders.

"You weren't here to put in a request, so I guess not." I replied off-handedly. She shot me a look and began sifting through the fridge. Unsuccessfully completing her search of the fridge, she moved to the pantry, pulling out and opening a can of ravioli. Meanwhile, I sat down at the large oak table and dug into my eggs. "Went hunting last night, I take it?" I asked, looking up from my food. I could tell; she was always calmer, more relaxed after she'd been hunting. Rikka's response was a single word:

"Yeah."

Of course, 'hunting' was a milder term for what she did. All of us had exceptional combat skills, thanks to the training (particularly in Russian Systema) we had received back at the Lab, as well as from Matt, but Rikka seemed to feel the need to exercise those skills whenever something was on her mind or when she was in a bad mood, thus, the hunting. From what I'd seen first-hand, 'hunting' involved shadowing and cornering low-lives, or really anyone for that matter, and killing them as gruesomely and sadistically as was satisfying. Sick, I know, but that was Rikka for you. Finishing the rest of the meal in silence, I went back upstairs to wake up the others.

At the top of the stairs, I stopped in the doorway to Gage's room, just looking in for a second to see of he was awake. He wasn't. Picking up a shoe fro m the numerous piles of clothes and other stuff littered about the floor, I tossed it at him. He groaned, rolling over to see what had hit him.

"What was that for?" he asked sleepily, shaking his over-long blond hair out of his eyes.

"'Cause I wanted to… and it's time to wake up. And wake up Shea for me will you?" I said, already heading down the hall to Angel's room. I received a muttered swear word as I left. I smiled to myself. Outside the door to Angel's room, I stopped, knocking three times. "Ange? You awake?" I asked through the door. No answer. Opening the door, I stuck my head inside. "Ange?" I inquired again, quietly. There was a movement under the blankets as she came back to consciousness. Raising her head off the pillow a few inches, she looked at me silently with her emerald green eyes, her long auburn hair hanging in wisps around her face. "You up?" I asked. Angel just sighed and nodded, shifting into a sitting position. "Good." I left.

The door to Tip's room was open. I knocked on the doorjamb. Looking around the jamb, I saw him sitting at his desk, fully dressed, working with something, surrounded by bits of electronics and other stuff. "What are you doing up so early?" I asked suspiciously. I knew for a fact that Tip only got up before ten in the morning if someone woke him up or he was working on some major project of his. I guessed it was a project. Tip swiveled in the office chair to face me.

"Oh, hey. 'Morning." He glanced back at whatever it was he was working on. "Uh… yeah…"

"Hey, wait a minute… Is that part of the _stereo?_" I asked incredulously, spotting something among the junk that littered the desktop, not entirely wanting to know the answer.

"Uh… yeah…" He tried to look innocent. "But it's the old one from Matt's office."

"Oh, ok, good… 'Cause if it _was_ the stereo, I'd have to kill you and put your remains through the coffee maker." I told him jokingly. Tip grinned at me.

"How pleasant…"

"Yeah… C'mon. Have some breakfast, join the rest of us." I suggested lightly, messing up his short, spiky brown hair. He slid off the chair, still smoothing his hair, and followed me back downstairs. I loved that kid. He was like a little brother to me.

**.:X:.**

Back in the kitchen, everyone had finally gathered for the day. Gage, Shea, Angel and Tip sat at the breakfast table, while I leaned against the pantry door, my arms folded across my chest. Rikka was sitting on the counter next to the stove, playing with a small pairing knife.

"So…" Shea asked, looking up at me, "We got any plans for today?" I cast a sidelong glance at Rikka. She looked back in my direction but didn't say anything.

"Well, as you might have noticed, we're kinda running low on food, so we're gonna have to make a trip to the grocery store sometime today, preferably earlier rather than later…" I said. "Anyone wanna come with me?"

"I'll go." Tip volunteered.

"Me too." Shea agreed.

Angel spoke up, "Why don't we all go?" she commented. I nodded.

"Alright. We'll all go." I concluded. "Everybody be ready in ten?"

**.:X:.**

Ten minutes later we all met back up on the front porch, ready to go.

"We all here?" I asked, looking at the others. "Good. Let's get going…" Sprinting a few yards, I unfurled my black wings to their full fourteen foot span, and launched myself into the air, quickly followed by Rikka and the others. It was only a short flight into town, so we soon touched down in an empty lot behind the drug store next to the super-market. Furling my wings away, I watched Rikka land gracefully beside me, when a jingling from inside her jacket caught my attention. "You brought the knives with you, didn't you?" I asked, slightly exasperated. She looked at me, but just started walking around the side of the building. I shook my head. Rikka had a strange fascination with knives, guns and various other killing implements, but we had all come to accept that by now. It did come in handy sometimes though.

_She brought the knives… What the hell am I gonna do with her…?_ Sighing, I followed her and the others around the building and into the store.

Walking in through the automatic doors, I looked around at the various isles and sections, wondering where to start. "Right… We split into pairs. Shea? You and Angel take meats and bread. Rikka? You and Gage get vegetables and produce. Tip and I'll get breakfast foods and whatever else." I told them, reading the signs over the rows. With that, we split up to get the assigned foods.

Wandering through the frozen food section, Tip and I picked up whatever seemed good at the time, tossing it into the cart as we went. Just as we finished up on our part, Rikka and Gage showed up. Gage was looking over his shoulder as he turned the corner onto the frozen isle. Rikka was expressionless, but her hands were in her pockets. _Never a good sign…_

_What now…?_ I wondered as the two approached.

"We've got a problem." Rikka said quietly, as she came to stand next to me.

"Human?" I asked, concerned.

"Eraser." she replied simply.

"_Shit_. Not _again_…"


	2. Chapter 2: Stolen

Chapter 2:

"We gonna get outta here?" Gage asked, a slight edge in his voice.

"Yeah…" I said him slowly, thinking over the best way to get out of this, "Go get the others, meet me at the back of the store. Tell 'em to leave the food and come on." With that instruction, they left, leaving Tip and me to make our way to the 'employees only' area at the back of the store.

It took less than a minute to get the six of us together outside the double swinging doors that lead into the 'employees only' area of the store. Unfortunately, our luck ran out right there. Slipping through the doors and into the storage area, I ran straight into an Eraser. Grinning maliciously, he made a grab for me, as I put all my momentum into an elbow strike, hitting him square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Gasping, he was knocked back a few steps, just enough for me to snap off a palm strike to the jaw. The Eraser's head snapped back, sending him reeling away into a massive shelf unit, where he collapsed. Not waiting for any more to show up, and the rest of the group right behind me, I took off through the maze of storage areas, looking for a way out of the place. Turning quickly down one of the isles, I spotted an emergency exit door. Not caring if it was alarmed or not, I threw it open, racing out into the back lot of the complex. Looking back for a second, I saw another group of four Erasers pile out the door we just came through.

_Great… the rest of the pack…_ I thought, remembering that Erasers always traveled in groups of five.

"Hey! Lemme go! Lemme go you--!" Turning back, I saw that Tip, being the last one out, had been grabbed by the back of the shirt collar by the closest Eraser and pulled into a choke hold, and was now struggling to get out of it. I started back for him, but as I did, the Eraser holding her pulled a gun from his belt and held it to Tip's head.

"Come any closer, and I kill the kid." The Eraser said calmly. I stopped, seeing the pleading look on Tip's face. Glancing to my left, I noticed Rikka slowly reaching under her jacket for one of the numerous blades I knew she kept with her. I motioned for her stop. I knew the Eraser would put a bullet in Tip's head before the knife even left her hand. There was nothing we could do at that point. "Now," he continued, "he comes with us, and we let you all live. You try to stop us, or even look like you're trying to, in any way, we kill him. Then all of you. Is that clear?" He grinned wolfishly. We just stood there. "Good. We'll be going now."

I watched, powerless to do anything, as the group of the four remaining Erasers hauled Tip over to a black van I had seen on our way in, and threw him into the back, slamming the doors. Looking back at us, one of them waved.

"G'bye…" He called back, mocking us. Then he climbed into the passenger seat as the vehicle started its engine and took off in a cloud of dust.

The van got farther away by the second. I lost it. Swearing violently, I spread my wings and took off after it. Staying low, I made my way over the rooftops of downtown, always keeping the van in my sights. Apparently one of the Erasers saw me take off after them, and the van swerved into one of the many industrial parks in the city. Following them, I swooped in and out of the scaffolding rigs, trying to keep track of the van while not killing myself on any of the construction equipment. Folding my wings in, I shot through a gap between two freight elevators and into the empty shell of the main building. Putting on a new burst of speed, I launched myself straight up towards the open sky above the building. Clearing the building's initial structure, I landed on the arm of a crane and gazed around for the van. Where was it? Suddenly, a movement on the ground caught my eye. The van! But my heart sank as I realized where the van was headed. It was already on the highway, heading north at a steady fifty-five miles an hour. I judged the distance between me and the van. About a mile. I wouldn't be able to catch up to it in time before it made it to the interstate, where it would accelerate up to sixty-five, rendering it uncatchable from this distance.

A growl of rage and frustration rose in my throat. I swore profusely as I watched the van shrink into the distance. They got Tip. That kid meant the world to me. And I let him down.

I sat there on the arm of the crane, staring until after the sun went down.


	3. Chapter 3: Mounting a Rescue

Chapter 3:

Having been blindfolded as well as having his hands and wings bound shortly after being thrown into the van, Tip had finally managed to work the blindfold off enough to see. He was still dizzy from trying to shake it off, but at least he could tell what was going on now. Laying there on the cold metal floor of the vehicle, he looked out the window, up into the vast expanse of sky overhead, hoping to see a dark shape soaring towards the van, coming to get him the heck out of there. Nothing. Where was Shadow? Where were the others? They were supposed to come get him, weren't they?

At that point one of the Erasers decided to check on their 'charge'. Shifting to look back into the cargo area, he saw Tip had gotten the blindfold off and was attempting to sit up.

"Oh no you don't…" he growled. Grabbing the gun from his belt, he lashed out, striking Tip in side of the head with it. The last thing Tip remembered was a sharp pain before he blacked out.

**.:X:.**

It was long past dark by the time I got back to the house. Not in the mood to meet or talk to anyone, I slipped into the shadows as I approached, letting my active camouflage meld me into the darkness.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, not only in addition to having wings and being able to fly, all of us have these strange quirks or abilities. One of mine just happens to be being able to blend into the darkness like camouflage.

Even from a distance I could see the lights were out in the house. Quietly opening the back door with the spare key I always kept with me, I stepped into the darkened living room. I didn't need any lights to find exactly where I was going: one of the 'improvements' the 'scientists' made on me back at the Lab was to drastically improve my low-light vision by implanting thousands more photoreceptors in my retinas, as well as permanently stimulating the muscles that dilated my pupils. I could see in near complete darkness just as well as normal people could with a small flashlight. That was how I saw Rikka sitting there on the couch, waiting for me. I looked at her through the gloom, but didn't say anything. I knew she could see me just as well as I saw her, because after their success with me, they did the same thing to her.

"Shadow…" She said quietly. I turned back. "We know where they took him."

"Yeah. I know." The Lab. I left, going up to my room and closing the door.

**.:X:.**

By the time the sun came up over the horizon, I was ready to go. I had spent most of the night preparing. Going down the stairs, I slung the backpack over one shoulder, then dropped it by the kitchen table as I went to the pantry to get a few more provisions. I hadn't bothered to be quiet, and I soon realized my activities had woken up the others, seeing them each wander into the kitchen in succession. Except for Rikka, who as far as I could tell, was still sitting on the couch from last night.

_Vigilante…_ I thought, looking over the top of Shea's head at her from the kitchen. Sometimes I wondered if she did that just because she had insomnia or if she just wanted to show off or make a point.

Seeing me walk in with a backpack, she got up off the couch and went down the hall, coming back with a pack of her own and started tossing cans of food into it.

"You're coming with me, I take it?" I asked.

"_Someone's_ gotta be there to save your ass when you get in over your head..." she retorted. I glared at her.

"Thanks for the support…" I muttered darkly. She gave me on of her rare but faint smiles. It made me feel a bit better; the smile, and knowing that I wasn't going on a possibly suicidal mission alone.

"Where are you going? Especially this early…" Angel asked, sitting down at the table.

"Going to get Tip." I told her flatly. She immediately became alert, standing up again.

"I'm going with you." she demanded quickly.

"No. You're not. None of you are." I replied bluntly, continuing to collect supplies, moving from drawer to drawer in the kitchen. "Where's the lighter?"

Angel looked indignant. "On top of the fridge. Now why not?"

I turned to face her, a large kitchen knife in my hand. Realizing the thoughts this would conjure up for everyone, I quickly dropped it back into the drawer and explained. "Because Rikka and I already know what we're doing, plus it's a lot easier to break into a high security compound that has security cameras, razor wire, electric fences, armed guards, and god knows what else when you have only two people instead of four. Not to mention we're both older than you. We've been dealing with these psychos a bit longer than you have. And most importantly, I don't want anything to happen to you guys. If anything happened to you… I'd never forgive myself." I hated pulling the whole seniority thing on them, but this was Tip's life (not to mention his sanity) that was at stake. I started down the hall.

"You're not the only one that cares about him, Shadow!" Angel called after me.

I turned back from going down the hall. "I never said I was. But the discussion's over. You're not coming." I said coldly. Turning back, I continued down the hall, where I stopped outside Matt's office. I sighed. Matt had disappeared more than a year ago. He was the one to get us out of the Lab. We all knew he was probably dead. Removing highly classified, government funded, biological experiments form a maximum security compound is pretty much guaranteed to get you killed _some_how.

Opening the door to his office, I stepped inside. Everything was how he had left it before he disappeared. The desk was covered in papers, the computer sat at one side of it, his jacket was even still hanging from the back of the chair. Avoiding looking around too much, not wanting to drag up those memories, I opened one of the filing cabinets and started rifling through it. Finding the folder I was looking for, I shut the drawer, and headed back out, closing the door behind me. Back in the kitchen, I stuffed the file into my backpack and zipped it up.

"What was that?" Gage asked, as I slipped my pack on over my shoulders.

"Layout of the compound, security measures, guard shift time-tables, a few access codes… Basically the info we need to make it in and out alive. Matt had it in his office. I saw it a couple of times when he wasn't there."

Rikka had finished packing her stuff away and slung the pack on, looking at me. I nodded, heading for the door, everyone else following. Once outside, I looked around in the early morning light. It was going to be another nice day, the air was crisp and clean, without a cloud in the sky. I looked at the patterns of the shadows cast among the tall pines by sun, spreading my wings and stretching slightly. Next to me, Rikka opened her wings and jumped straight up, catching what air movement there was, and hovered there for a moment before landing to crouch on the lower part of the roof. Staring up at her, partially silhouetted by the sunlight, she reminded me of a dark angel, her black wings glinting in the light, her dark clothes giving the impression she was cloaked in liquid darkness. She saw me watching.

"What?" she asked, looking down at me.

"Nothing…" I muttered. "Let's get going." Taking flight myself, I quickly gained altitude, heading north, Rikka at my side, determined to get Tip back.


	4. Chapter 4: Waiting

Chapter 4:

Four pleasantly uneventful hours later, with only a few consultations of the map, we touched down in some desolate, remote part of northern Wyoming. We could see the cyclone fence of the compound about a quarter mile away.

"Well. There it is." I said grimly, shading my eyes with a hand to cut out some of the glare of the sun off the brown, desolate landscape. I scuffed a boot in the dirt, raising a small cloud of dust around my feet.

"Yeah. Great location, isn't it?" Rikka said, turning away from the buildings in the distance to look over at me.

"Yeah…" I muttered, "C'mon. Let's find some kind of shade around here so we don't fry before it gets dark."

We finally settled for a small grove of half-dead trees by the shore of a small lake about half a mile from the compound. Tossing my backpack down onto the dry earth, I slumped against the trunk of a tree, looking out at the barren land around us. It went on for miles, as far as the eye could see. Just dirt. Dirt, rock and the occasional stunted scrub. That was it. No wonder they put the Lab all the way out here. Anyone lucky enough to get out would die of heat stroke or starvation out in the flats before they could get far enough away. All the scientists had to do was send a team to collect the remains, if there was anything left to find, and that was that. Not a pleasant way to die…

Digging around in my bag, I pulled out a water bottle and took a sip from it. Shoving it back inside, I pulled out the folder I had collected from Matt's office before we left and opened it. After a few minutes, Rikka sat down a few feet away from me, crossing her legs. She picked up a few rocks and tossed them into the lake. I heard the soft splash.

The next few hours were spent idling around and reading over the information in the file. I was right. They did employ just about every security measure known to man there. Guards with guns. Razor wire, cameras, the whole thing. This was going to take some serious planning with an emphasis on timing. As far as I could tell, the best thing was to wait until it got dark, and wait for the guard shift to change before going over the fence. Once past the guards and cameras, we'd have roughly five minutes to find a way into the complex before the next shift came on. If we did manage to find a way in, the hallways were monitored by automated security cameras at every junction, making it extremely difficult to get anywhere without being seen. Assuming we got through all the security measures, our next problem would be to locate Tip. I had a general idea of where he would be, due to the fact that I fucking _grew up_ in there, but my knowledge only went so far.

Getting fed up with it, I put the folder back in its place, and stood up. Rikka had wandered over to the lake shore, and now sat there, watching the dead calm of the blue-green water, raking a combat knife through the dusty soil. I sat down next to her, just watching too. The late afternoon sun beat down around us, reflecting off the surface of the lake, making it sparkle.

"Kinda peaceful, ain't it?" I muttered, still staring out at the water. Rikka nodded.

"Yeah… In its own dead way…"

An odd silence came between us.

After a moment, Rikka stood up, sliding the knife back into its sheath and dusted her jeans off. Going over to her pack, she unzipped it, reaching inside. A few seconds of searching produced a couple of granola bars.

"You want one?" she asked, holding one out, looking at me.

"Sure." I said. She tossed it to me. Reaching out slightly, I caught it, looked at it quickly, and began to unwrap it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't ideal. Finishing it, I stuffed the wrapper in my pocket. Going back over to the tree I'd been sitting under earlier, I kicked my backpack up against the trunk and settled back, using it as a pillow. I figured a nap wouldn't be a bad idea. We were going to need all our energy and strength to make it through this. Closing my eyes, I felt the cool shadows of the branches play across my face as I fell asleep.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5: The Place of Nightmares

Chapter 5

Some hours later, I woke to Rikka's not-so-gentle nudge in the ribs with the toe of her boot. Getting up, I checked the time. Ten thirty PM. I pulled the security time tables out of the folder in my pack. Reading over them, I found that the the guard changed at ten-forty-five; fifteen minutes. Stuffing the papers back into the backpack, I shouldered it and turned to Rikka.

"Let's do this." I whispered gravely. Without a sound, both of us took to the air, getting ever closer to the place of nightmares.

Landing about five feet from the security fence, which was at least twelve feet tall and topped by a seamless coil of razor wire, we crouched behind a pathetically scrubby clump bushes, waiting, our senses so alert, our bodies so tense, we probably would have killed each other on the spot if one of us had so much as shifted positions.

Beyond the fence, about twenty yards ahead of us, a single pair of armed (human) security guards stood in the orange glow of a halogen lamp hanging over an outer door. Beside me, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rikka pulling the combat knife out of her boot sheath, watching the guards intently, a faint predatory smile on her face.

"Easy there, Jagger..." I whispered, almost inaudibly.

'Jagger' is one of my more personal nicknames for Rikka. It's derived from the German word for 'hunter', which is 'jaeger' (pronounced 'yayger'). But there's no 'j' sound in the German language that I know of, so- ah, never mind. You get the idea.

Anyway.

I looked at my watch. Ten forty-four. Any minute now.

Sure enough, at exactly ten forty-five PM, the guards turned away form the fence to go inside. That was when we made our move.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. The two of us easily vaulted the fence and the razor wire, landing almost silently right behind the guards; I took out mine quickly and quietly with a swift twist of the head, snapping his neck. Rikka, however, having the homicidal tendencies she does, went for a more military approach with her guard, slicing the carotid artery cleanly, and crushing the windpipe at the same time, silencing the scream before it even left his lips.

Dragging the pair of bodies into the shadows away from the door and the cameras, we crouched there, searching them for any items that might come in handy. Of course, we took both guns, and the spare clips. M4A1 Carbines. Each outfitted with an M203, and an ACOG. Nice touch. Finishing searching the bodies, Rikka held up two ID badges belonging to each of the stiffs at our feet.

"Instant access..." she said, tossing one of the badges to me, grinning in the darkness.

"You are one sick fuck, you know that?" I asked, referring to her dispatch of the guard, yet still shaking my head, returning the grin.

"That's what they pay me for..." Rikka replied simply, standing up and shouldering her Carbine.

You may ask how we could come up behind a couple of unsuspecting guards, and just slaughter them like sheep, without a second thought, without remorse. Well, I'll tell you: when you've grown up as we have, kept in cages, solitary confinement, experimented on with drugs, surgeries, and physical and psychological torture, you don't forgive the people who put you through it. Ever. Even the ones who are the least connected. They played a part by not doing anything to stop it. This wasn't just a mission to rescue our youngest family member and one of our closest friends, from a place no one should ever have to go back to, this was the beginning of a way to strike back at the scientists for the hell they put us though for all those years, all in the name of 'scientific progress'. This was the beginning... of a vendetta.

Inching my way along the wall, using my active camouflage to blend with the shadows next to the building, I crept closer to the door. Once beside it, I swiped the ID badge across the electronic access pad. Holding my breath for a moment, I heard the click of the lock disengaging. I pulled on the handle. The door opened. Leveling the stolen assault rifle ahead of me, I stepped inside, Rikka right behind me.

It was a storage room. About ten feet wide and fifteen feet long, it was filled mostly with cleaning supplies: floor polishers, trash cans, mops, brooms, cleaning solvents, and shelf units holding various pieces of equipment. At the far end was another door. A door we were going to have to go through. Suddenly, a machine next to me started up, sending a cold jolt through my entire body. Jesus. We were in a fucking storage room and my nerves were already getting to me. Looking back at Rikka, I saw her jaw clenched, and her eyes were cold- her version of severe paranoia.

_Great... anything that made Rikka outwardly nervous..._

I stepped behind one of the shelves, motioning for Rikka to follow. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Any idea what's beyond that door?" I asked. My throat was too dry to speak any louder than a hoarse whisper.

"No fucking clue..." she shot back quietly. We all have a tendency to swear excessivly when we're nervous.

"Right..." Stepping out from behind the shelf, I padded carefully over to the door. Pressing my ear up to the cold metal, I listened for any signs of activity on the other side. Hearing none, I opened the door as quietly and as little as possible. I squinted out though the thin gap between the door and the frame. It led directly out into a hallway. One which I had no recollection of ever being down. So much for that theory. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Rikka come up next to me. Letting the door shut, I turned to her.

"What's out there?" she asked, switching the safety of her rifle on and off absently.

"Hallway. Dunno where. Don't remember it." I paused, "There's probably a camera just outside, I think."

"Great, now what the fuck do we do?"

I shook my head, wondering the same thing myself. As a check, I started sorting through the items I'd brought in my pack, in hopes of finding something that might help. Rikka did the same. After several seconds of searching, I hadn't found anything.

"Nothing." I muttered.

"What's this?"

Rikka held up a small device about the size and shape of a container of Altoids. I held out a hand.

"Lemme see it." She tossed it to me. Looking it over, I figured it was probably one of Tip's electronics projects that he was always working on. How the hell did that get in there? I stared at it. It had a button.

Now, I knew better than to randomly pick up one of Tips projects and start pressing buttons; all too often that ended in an explosion of some sort, or a whole lot of fried stereo equipment, neither of which I was in the mood for most of the time, especially right now. But seeing as this little thing might be our only chance of getting through the Lab undetected, I threw caution to the wind. Turning half away from it, I held the device out from my body, and pressed the button.

The Lights flickered overhead, but that was it. I pressed it again, wondering if I'd missed something. The lights flickered again. Hmm... Then it dawned on me.

"EMP." I said shortly. Rikka looked at me as if I was crazy.

"Oh, yeah, blow the shit out of the electrical system. Lotta good _that_'ll do us." She spat, harsh sarcasm in her voice, "Everything locks down in a power outage!"

"I _know_ that." I snapped, "This thing's _localized_. Point it at a camera, and you're just a screen anomaly. Gone in the blink of an eye. A ghost. No lost time on the tapes."

I saw the look of recognition on her face as what I had just said finished sinking in. Rikka smiled.

"Ah... Let's be ghosts, shall we?"


End file.
